Will injustice win out?

People who wink at wrong cause trouble, but a bold reproof promotes peace. (Proverbs 10:10 NLT)

It is impossible not to see 'wrong' around us today. It riddles the newscasts, fills our media feeds, and is probably evident right in your own neighborhood. The longer we live on this earth, the more we will have seen - all of it adding up to wrongs multiplied and troubles galore. Do we merely turn a blind eye to the evil we see around us - to the wrongs done to others? If we do, how will this world ever know the love or grace of Jesus? It takes the righteous to stand up to unrighteousness. It takes the people of God to drive back the forces of darkness that abound. What will we do if wrong comes our way? Won't we take up the fight because it affects us personally? Why should it be any different when we see wrong perpetrated against others? Shouldn't we be the instruments of change that this world desperately needs?

Disapproval of wrong can come in many forms, but the greatest thing we can do is stand up against wrong. We can write letters to our governmental leaders, letting them know we don't approve of a particular course of action that is proposed because it will simply promote further wrongs or injustices in our society. We can volunteer to build houses and restore shelters for those who have been 'unhoused' for various reasons, causing them to live on the streets, in their cars, or moving from place to place with no sense of really belonging. We can be the hands and feet of Christ in natural disaster, or when a loved one loses someone to a tragedy such as car accident or violent crime. We can open our homes to children whose parents have chosen a path that leaves the youngsters to fend for themselves.

Disapproval of wrong doesn't mean we are always shaking our heads and asking where this world is coming to. It means we become the hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world - in whatever form that takes. There will be times when we need to take a bold approach to stand up against injustices - but in peaceful ways and with peaceful intent. We aren't driving back the forces of evil with more violence. We drive it back with God's peace and his hope. The more we become agents of peace in this world, the more hope we have of turning back some of the tide of evil that we see coming our way continually.

Will we promote peace in our communities? Will we promote it in our homes? How will this world know Jesus lest we reveal his love and hope to them through practical and peaceful means? The call isn't to turn a blind eye and shake our heads in disapproval. The call is to find a way to bring a 'bold reproof' in the face of such evil and injustice. The 'bold reproof' we are called to bring isn't in words alone. It is in actions that show how Christ would want our world to respond - in practical love. A reproof can be given by being a better example and by being there where the need exists. To wink at wrong is never going to change our world. To stand as 'bold reproofs' of such wrongs will. Just saying!